we're halfway there
by Caewyn
Summary: The Doctor/River Song.  "A hundred-and-ninety-four years is a very long time."
1. starbright

**Title**: starbright

**Fandom**: Doctor Who

**Pairing**: The Doctor/River Song; implied Rory Williams/Amelia Pond

**Rating**: K

**Spoilers**: 06.01 "The Impossible Astronaut", 06.07 "A Good Man Goes to War"

**Summary**: And they were headed to this moment all along.

* * *

><p>The Doctor took to driving just as River expected—dismally.<p>

"It refuses to _stop_," he muttered, sonic screwdriver in frantic motion over the dashboard as the convertible rolled onward. With narrowed eyes and sulky mouth, he looked younger than her even with his vaunted nine-hundred-and-forty years (he was there with the first automobile, he retorted, offended when she asked if he could drive). She hid a grin as he prodded at the radio. "You're laughing at me."

"I would never." The skin at her eyes belied her words. She pointed at his feet. "Sweetie, have you tried the brakes?"

"Of course I did." They jerked to a stop, and it was only instinct that kept her from a broken nose. His arms went everywhere as he found himself tangled in the seatbelt.

Oh, she tried, she truly did. Half-curled over, she laughed.

* * *

><p>He turned at the sound to watch her.<p>

Golden corkscrews and wide smile—and in sage eyes (Rory's eyes), free of the usual wariness and fierce confidence that was River Song, he saw the best of them.

Amy's faith and Rory's strength, the TARDIS's constancy and his own relentless curiosity—what else could he do but love her?


	2. hang your heart here

**Title**: hang your heart here

**Fandom**: Doctor Who

**Pairing**: The Doctor/River Song

**Rating**: K

**Spoilers**: 03.08 "Human Nature", 03.09 "The Family of Blood", 06.01 "The Impossible Astronaut", 06.12 "Closing Time"

**Summary**: He had never done this before (but he wanted to).

* * *

><p>The prospect of owning a house (permanence) was terrifying.<p>

He had been running for so long, just him and the TARDIS and all of time and space to see; another key in his pocket and a name on a contract was not something he ever imagined for himself.

(But John Smith would have—and did. He had wanted it with a strange desperation, a home for himself in Farringham with Joan.)

And he was nine-hundred-and-ninety with time slipping through his fingers.

He chose it with River in mind, solid and blue (and bigger on the inside). There could be no other choice—he thought she would agree.

* * *

><p>She found a TARDIS-blue envelope on her cot when she returned from Asgard, flushed with adventure and sunlight. Attached to the brass key was a tag—the words "somewhere new to run to," a set of coordinates and a date.<p>

Laughing, she reached for her vortex manipulator.

The house in southern California was elegant without being ostentatious, bits of alien technology worked cunningly into knickknacks on the shelves.

(The book scanner nestled beside a glass paperweight was not from 2015).

It wasn't just a house—he had given her a "home".

(I'm home.)


	3. time to grieve

**Title**: time to grieve

**Fandom**: Doctor Who

**Pairing**: The Doctor/River Song; implied The Doctor/Reinette, implied The Doctor/Rose Tyler

**Rating**: T

**Spoilers**: 02.04 "The Girl in the Fireplace", 06.13 "The Wedding of River Song"

**Summary**: She hated that time goes on even when they're apart.

* * *

><p>She found the letter in an abandoned room, the parchment gathering dust on a mahogany armoire (18th-century, neoclassic). The archaeologist in her couldn't resist; neither could the wife.<p>

My dear Doctor, it read. River hated that flash of irrational disdain.

Even now, she always felt so young when confronted with relics of his past lovers, proof that while she remained fixed in time, he was ever constantly moving. It had nothing to do with betrayal and everything to do with jealousy.

(Betrayal was more her cup of tea anyway.)

The Doctor who found her standing there (nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine, awkward and unsure) flashed her a semblance of his usual smile.

"We're almost at Aractus," he said, leaving the room.

She was his wife—it should have been enough. Instead, River envied every other River Song who had him when she could not.

* * *

><p>Just because River would never ask him didn't mean that he didn't know.<p>

He saw the questions behind every teasing smile, every coy glance. What was she—and he saw every other Girl-Who-Waited, who waited like River waited (waits, will wait).

And he didn't have the answers for her.

(Rose, he whispered, fist clenched between his two hearts, oh Rose.)


	4. right turn wrong

**Title**: right turn wrong

**Fandom**: Doctor Who

**Pairing**: The Doctor/River Song

**Rating**: M

**Spoilers**: 06.01 "The Impossible Astronaut", 06.13 "The Wedding of River Song"

**Summary**: Good men (gods) have such few limitations (rules).

* * *

><p>River was the first person he thought of visiting after he left Colchester.<p>

Abject and miserable, he needed to see the one to blame.

(He forgot Amy clinging to his shoulders, Rory's too-solemn eyes before he ducked inside the house. They were, after all, simply the latest in the string of strangers that shared his madness.)

And perhaps that was why the TARDIS chose to remind him of his own choice.

Because twenty-five year-old Melody Pond (River Song), sweat-drenched brows knitted in pain as she huddled in the corner of her cot, was not the woman he wanted to see.

(But he needed to. This was the girl he "forgave," the girl he condemned so that he may have his peace. He was nine-hundred-and-ten, ancient and experienced and so very young.)

* * *

><p>Sometimes, in the haze of dreams, she wondered what really happened at Lake Silencio.<p>

Because she shot the Doctor and he died (golden energy fading as his body collapsed, strings cut).

Because she shot the sand and reality died (the heat of his mouth on hers as time moved again).

Because she shot a Doctor-suit and he disappeared (he winked, running away).

(By morning, she will have forgotten everything.)


	5. nothing quite so loud

**Title**: nothing quite so loud

**Fandom**: Doctor Who

**Pairing**: The Doctor/River Song; implied Rory Williams/Amelia Pond

**Rating**: K

**Spoilers**: 05.13 "The Big Bang", 06.01 "The Impossible Astronaut", 06.07 "A Good Man Goes to War"

**Summary**: To his chagrin, she had never traveled just because.

* * *

><p>Just when she thought that he could never surprise her, he proved her wrong.<p>

"What," River choked out "are you wearing on your head?"

"Mouse ears. Well, hard plastic disks that resemble mouse ears." He paused, eyes narrowed as he covered them. "And a gift. I remember what you did to my fez."

"And Stetson."

"Yes, and my Stetson," he agreed, fighting a smile. "In any case, Doctor Song, pack your bags. We're going on a trip."

* * *

><p>Somewhere between planets, he wondered if he had ever met River just because he wanted to.<p>

He paused, plans for Abydos forgotten as he considered the handful of times they actually crossed paths (and dodged death). The TARDIS took the decision from him, whisking him to Stormcage before he could change his mind.

He was glad she did.

River's unabashed glee as they waited for Space Mountain was not the mark of a psychopath; it reminded him that there was enough (so much) of Amy and Rory in her that Madame Kovarian wasn't able to take away.

When she nudged him to move, he bumped back against her, shoulder to shoulder in matching mouse ears (because nine-hundred-and-thirty-six was not too old for this).


	6. between here and there

**Title**: between here and there

**Fandom**: Doctor Who

**Pairing**: The Doctor/River Song

**Rating**: M

**Spoilers**: 06.01 "The Impossible Astronaut", 06.13 "The Wedding of River Song"

**Summary**: Don't look at me, she thought, like I'm not the same person.

* * *

><p>He tried running—Centuria, Argolis, Caligaris Epsilon Six (who could resist dragons)—but in the end, he landed back where he started.<p>

"Hello, sweetie," she said, continuing her packing. The cell was a flurry of alternating orderliness and chaos, steel cases strewn over every available surface, half-open and filled with artifacts. "It's amazing how much you can gather even in captivity."

"River—" He licked his dry lips, not sure how to continue. "You're—getting out?"

"Of course." She watched him, eyebrows arched in amusement. "Ah. That young for you then?"

"I'm nine-hundred-and-twelve, thank you very much," he responded, scowling.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry." He turned away, shame coloring his voice, lengthening the shadows under his eyes. She decided then that she hated the way he looked (or didn't look) at her. "I knew and still did nothing."<p>

"It was a fixed point," she said, echoing his words. "There was nothing you could've done."

"Oh, River." His eyes now intent on hers, searching for forgiveness in a girl she had not been in a long time. "I shouldn't have—"

"Don't," she ground out, angry. He didn't know, but how dare he belittle her (their) sacrifices. "You don't understand."

(You can't understand.)


	7. all the right ways

**Title**: all the right ways

**Fandom**: Doctor Who

**Pairing**: The Doctor/River Song

**Rating**: K

**Spoilers**: 04.08 "Silence in the Library", 06.01 "The Impossible Astronaut", 06.13 "The Wedding of River Song"

**Summary**: Love was not a competition (unless you're winning).

* * *

><p>The key to having the edge on a time-traveler was to always be one step ahead.<p>

And if River happened to have for her use a small blue book that detailed those adventures—well, archaeology taught her to use any tools at her disposal.

(Being older and having a vortex manipulator had its advantages too.)

* * *

><p>He had everything arranged, everything.<p>

A lovely wicker basket he picked up on Shan Shen, one of the bottles of wine Napoleon chucked at him (when the Frenchman found him posing au naturel for Joséphine), and a picnic spread from a rustic Italian café—he was prepared to take River on their Asgard date.

Only to find her missing from her cell, a set of coordinates and a date in a careless scrawl on the wall. Cheeky.

She was reclined in the tall yellow-green grass (so similar and different from the red fields on Gallifrey—oh, he wished he could show her), a sly smile and looking entirely too smug.

"Hello sweetie." As if to add to the insult, she had also arranged—and was that custard?

"You have custard." Nine-hundred-and-thirty-nine and completely outsmarted; oh, Koschei was definitely laughing somewhere. He grinned. "I concede defeat."


	8. raise your glass

**Title**: raise your glass

**Fandom**: Doctor Who

**Pairing**: The Doctor/River Song, Rory Williams/Amelia Pond, Sion Evans/Lauren Williams

**Rating**: K

**Spoilers**: 06.01 "The Impossible Astronaut", 06.13 "The Wedding of River Song"

**Summary**: He took her to her sister's wedding (yet another doctor's wife).

* * *

><p>He grinned, twirling his Pond in an approximation of a waltz. She laughed at the imperfect movement, ducking to avoid a collision. Across from him, River in Rory's arms shook her head as she guided her father's gaze back on her. He winked and turned right.<p>

Lauren Pond (Williams) was not the same little girl he remembered visiting from time to time. Now smiling as she leaned against her wife (Doctor Sion Evans), she reminded him of a younger Amy (another ginger).

"She looks happy," he murmured. Amy nodded against him. They were swaying now, her head tucked against his shoulder.

"Yes, Lauri and her doctor." She laughed again, her words lost in the wool of his tuxedo.

He had had this feeling before (the night they refused to speak about Space 1969); at nine-hundred-and-thirty-five, he paused. "Fish fingers and custard, eh Pond?"

She understood (she always did). "Fish fingers and custard."

* * *

><p>"What's he saying to her?" Rory asked, almost turned around.<p>

"Oh Dad, it's nothing." He sighed as he steered them around an elderly couple. "You worry too much."

She thought of her own wedding then (abrupt and bewildering, the satin smooth on her fingers as they stood together).


	9. nomenclature

**Title**: nomenclature

**Fandom**: Doctor Who

**Pairing**: The Doctor/River Song

**Rating**: K

**Spoilers**: 06.01 "The Impossible Astronaut"

**Summary**: She lived for those small pockets of time where he _lived_.

* * *

><p>"We should come back to see Jim-the-Fish."<p>

He was nodding when he registered the words. "Who's Jim the Fi—no." She grinned as the rising indignation and horror colored his cheeks red. "No, no, no—you don't call a star whale—a _star whale_—something like Jim-the-Fish."

She tilted her head to the side. "Why not? You're John Smith."

"John Smith is a perfectly reasonable name. Not as cool as the Doctor." He straightened his bow tie. "But still a good name. And he may not even want to be known as Jim—no, no, don't agree with her."

She laughed as he sputtered at the leviathan, emitting a series of clicks and whistles, the tips of his ears scarlet as he realized that the name was going to stick.

"Oh fine." He threw his hands up and sulked. "Nine-hundred-and-fifty-three years to come across a star whale who actually _wanted_ to be called—"

She couldn't resist. "Jim-the-Fish?"

* * *

><p>She was still chuckling as they were in flight.<p>

He shook his head, baffled at how a majestic creature could settle for a name so simplistic.

But why ever not, he thought. Normal, he had learned, accounted for some rather extraordinary things.


End file.
